Below is a list in Arabic of some of the more common colors.

Color	Plural (M. and F.)	Feminine	Masculine
Black	سودٌ	سَوْداءُ	أَسْودُ
White	بيضٌ	بَيْضاءُ	أَبْيَضُ
Red	حُمرٌ	حَمراءُ	أَحمَرُ
Green	خُضرٌ	خَضْراءُ	أخْضَرُ
Blue	زُرْقٌ	زرْقاءُ	أَزْرَقُ
Yellow	صُفْرٌ	صَفْراءُ	أَصْفَرُ

 

The masculine singular forms of the colors above have the same pattern as elatives and are diptotes. However, they are not used as elatives, but as regular adjectives. The feminine forms are also diptotes and are also used as regular adjectives. Note that the feminine pattern differs from the feminine elative (compare كبْرى, the feminine form of أكْبَرُ, to any of the feminine adjectives above). The plural forms are all triptotes. Below are examples of these colors used in sentences.

 

1. I bought a red car.	١. اشتريتُ سيارةً حمراءَ
2. His house is green.	٢. بيتُهُ اخْضرُ
3. We live in the yellow house at the end of the street.	٣. نسكن في البيت الاصفرِ في آخر الشارع
4. We all live in the yellow submarine.	٤. نسكن كلنا في الغواصةِ الصفراءِ
5. The government is trying to solve the problems between blacks and whites.	٥. الحكومة تحاول ان تحل َ المشاكل بين السود والبيض

 

In sentence one, the feminine form for “red” is used to modify the feminine noun. Since the masculine and feminine forms of these adjectives are diptotes, the adjective for red in the sentence does not have nunation.

In sentence two, the masculine form for “green” is the predicate of the equational sentence. Again, since it is a diptote, it does not take nunation even though it is indefinite.

The third sentence uses the masculine form for “yellow” in a definite noun-adjective phrase. Since the adjective is now definite, it will show a regular genitive case ending, as is the case with all diptotes when they are made definite (or are the first term of any idaafa, even an indefinite idaafa).

The fourth sentence shows the feminine form for “yellow” used in a definite noun-adjective phrase. Again, although the adjective is a diptote, it will show a regular genitive ending because it is definite. Now I know the song goes “We all live in a yellow submarine.” How would you produce that sentence and what case endings would you put on “yellow?” The answer is below.

نسكن كلنا في غواصةٍ صَفراءَ

 

The word for yellow in the sentence above shows a fatha instead of two kasras – as would any indefinite diptote put into the genitive case.

The fifth sentence shows the use of the masculine plurals for “black” and “white.” Keep in mind that the masculine and feminine plurals for the colors will only be used when referring to human beings, so you won’t see them too much.

As you might suspect, adjectives of color also have dual forms. For example, the dual of اسود is أسودان and the dual of سَوداء is سَوْداوان. You won’t see the dual forms too often.

Arabic also has nouns for colors equivalent to English terms such as “blueness,” “greenness,” and “blackness.” These words are listed below.

 

blackness	سَواد
whiteness	بَياض
redness	حُمرة
greenness	خُضرة
blueness	زُرْقة
yellowness	صُفْرة

 

For these two colors, the feminine plurals are sometimes used, referring, of course, to human beings.

 

 

In Modern Standard Arabic the ordinal numbers are used to tell time. Although in colloquial Arabic, the cardinal numbers are usually used, in the media, the MSA forms are used so it is good to know them. Below is a review of telling time using MSA. The review is brief, but it should give you all you will really need to know on the subject.

one o’clock	الساعةُ الواحدةُ
two o’clock	الساعةُ الثانيةُ
three o’clock	الساعةُ الثالثةُ
four o’clock	الساعةُ الرابعةُ
five o’clock	الساعةُ الخامسةُ
six o’clock	الساعةُ السادسةُ
seven o’clock	الساعةُ السابعة
eight o’clock	الساعةُ الثامنةُ
nine o’clock	الساعةُ التاسعةُ
ten o’clock	الساعةُ العاشرةُ
eleven o’clock	الساعةُ الحاديةَ عشرةَ
twelve o’clock	الساعةُ الثانيةَ عشرةَ

 

Note that instead of using the ordinal for واحد , which is أوّل in the masculine and أولى in the feminine, the feminine form of واحد is used. Other than that, the ordinals are used. If you need to review the ordinals, go to the section in this book on the numbers in Arabic.

Below are a couple of examples showing how these ordinals are used in telling time.

 

دقائق is used with إلاّ for constructions such as “five minutes to three”. See the following page.

 

While there are other features related to telling time, the above should suffice for almost all situations you are likely to encounter listening to or reading MSA. In colloquial Arabic, the situation is a bit different. The cardinals are used for the hour (with the corresponding dialect’s pronunciation), and the ordinals are not used with دقيقة. For example 3:25 would be الساعة ثلاثة وخمسة وعشرين دقيقة – pronounced somewhat differently from dialect to dialect. In fact, دقيقة is itself usually dropped. Furthermore, usually time is given for the hour, the quarter hour, the half hour, and a quarter till the hour. So time in colloquial is considerably easier and is what you will actually find more practical in day to day life in the Arab world.

 

The following is a review of the number system in Modern Standard Arabic and how it is used grammatically. The discussion below will cover both cardinal and ordinal numbers as well as a few other details. Most of what is below can be found in chapters 15 and 21 of volume one of EMSA but the information is included here for the sake of completeness.

Generally the grammar related to the numbers in Arabic is considered to be the most complicated thing about the language. In fact, it is considered so complicated that many teachers argue that not even Arabs use it correctly, so Americans should not have to learn it properly. This is true. It is also false.

When someone is speaking Modern Standard Arabic and starts to use numbers, there is a tendency for the speaker to slip into colloquial usage and pronunciation. However, in written Arabic only the standard is used. So if you want to be able to read the numbers correctly (and write them correctly), you need to be familiar with the material below. Furthermore, since you may not know any colloquial Arabic, you will need the rules and pronunciation from the standard when you wish to use numbers in speech. Therefore you really do need to know this material^.

It is also important to note that the number system, while it does present its difficulties, is in essence not too difficult. A handful of rules will cover virtually everything you will need to know in using the numbers. Once you get used to the rules, you will have little or no difficulty. Getting used to the rules requires about one hour of practice (once you have already learned to count), and an occasional review.

The treatment below will alternate between the cardinal numbers (one, two, three) and the ordinal numbers (first, second, third). For example, I will first discuss the cardinals from 1 to 10 and then give the ordinal version. Try to absorb this entire section bit by bit. If you go step by step, you will not have much trouble.

Cardinal Numbers: 1 – 10

Here are the numbers from 1 to 10 in Arabic. The numbers are written out fully next to the symbol for each number.

1	واحِدٌ	١
2	إثْنانِ	٢
3	ثَلاثَةٌ	٣
4	أَرْبَعةٌ	٤
5	خَمْسةٌ	٥
6	سِتّةٌ	٦
7	سَبْعةٌ	٧
8	ثَمانِيةٌ	٨
9	تِسْعةٌ	٩
10	عَشرَةٌ	١٠

 

First of all, you need to be able to recite these numbers in order without hesitation. Teach them to yourself now before you go on. You also need to be able to recognize the symbols immediately, so teach them to yourself right now too. Then continue.

I said that you must be able to recite the numbers above easily and recognize their symbols. So go back and do it.

Okay – now we will discuss these numbers further. We will start with the number 1. The number 1 in Arabic is واحِد and ١ is its symbol. If you want to say “one book” in Arabic you have two choices. The first is just to say “book,” كتابٌ This means both “a book” and “one book.” However, واحِد can follow the noun for emphasis. Thus “one book” can be rendered كتابٌ واحدٌ. Since واحد is an adjective it will have the same case as the noun it modifies. If the noun is feminine then واحد is made feminine. “One letter” رسالةٌ واحدةٌ

To say “two books” you can either put the noun in the dual by itself, or you also add إثْنان for emphasis. Thus you can say either كتابانِ or كتابان إثنانِ . “I read two books” is قرأتُ كتابينِ اثْنَيْنِ . (The اثْنَيْنِ is optional, of course.)  إثْنان becomes, إثْنَتانِ in the feminine. Therefore to say “two letters” you get رسالتان اثْنَتانِ”  I read two-letters” is قرأتُ رسالتينِ اثْنَتَيْنِ

So remember, numbers 1 and 2 in Arabic follow the noun they modify and agree with it in case and gender.

Now we come to the fun part, the numbers 3-10. Although the numbers are adjectives, 3-10 are always placed in an idaafa with the counted noun following the number. The counted noun will be in the plural. For example, the plural of مدرس is مدرسون. We want to say “three teachers,” so we get ثلاثة مدرسين. Since we have an idaafa, the second term is in the genitive case. Notice that the number is ثلاثة feminine. Here is the fun part. The number is feminine whenever the singular of the counted noun is masculine. Since the singular of مدرسون is مدرس which is a masculine word, any cardinal number from 3 to 10 used with it must be feminine. The principle is known as “reverse agreement.” Some students of Arabic have other names for it.

Now, let’s take the word مُدَرِّسة “a female teacher.” We now want to say “three female teachers.” The singular word is feminine, so we will use the MASCULINE form of the number. The result is ثلاث مدرساتٍ

This principle of reverse agreement hold for all nouns (that means all, not most of, or the majority of, or just about all). It does not matter whether the noun refers to a human or a non-human thing. Just remember, the number has the opposite gender of the singular noun.

This principle holds for the numbers 3 through 10. Here are some more examples of numbers between 1 and 10 used with nouns. Look at the English first and try to predict the Arabic. Then look at the Arabic answers. By the way, the numbers 3-10 are made masculine by just dropping the ة. For عشرة the masculine form not only drops the ة but requires putting a sukuun over the ش, so you get عَشْرٌ

Four students (masculine)	أربعةُ طلابٍ
Four students (feminine)	ارْبَعُ طالباتٍ
Ten cars	عَشْرُ سياراتٍ
Six fanatics	ستّةُ متطرّفين
Two pens	قلمانِ اثْنانِ
Eight silly reporters (masculine)	ثمانيةُ مراسلين سُخفاء
Eight superb reports (feminine)	ثماني مراسلاتٍ ممتازاتِ

 

Pay attention to the word for “eight” in Arabic. It comes from a defective root. When the number is feminine it is regular. However when it is masculine (as is the case for the last example above), it will work like any defective word used in an idaafa or made definite. That is, it will not have any case marker for the nominative or the genitive, but it will show a fatha for the accusative. Thus “I read eight boring articles about numbers” is قرأتٌ ثمانيَ مقالاتٍ مملةٍ عن الارقام .

The numbers 3 through 10 are often used in noun adjective phrases “the three books,” “these four tanks,” etc. The principle of reverse agreement will still apply, but now the number will follow the noun just as any adjective does. “The three books” is الكتبُ الثلاثةُ . “These four tanks” is هذا الدبابات الاربعُ

A rarer usage of numbers with nouns in order to express “the three books” etc. is as follows: الثلاثةُ كتبٍ . Here the number is made definite and shows reverse agreement. However, the counted noun is without the definite article, is genitive, and has nunation. This usage, minus the case endings, is what is commonly done in colloquial Arabic, but is rare in MSA.

You will find that most of the time you use numbers you will be using the numbers 1 through 10. So if you know the material above you know much of what you will be using on a regular basis.

The next section will treat the ordinal numbers 1-10. If you wish to stay with the cardinals, skip the following section and go on to the section after it which treats the cardinal numbers 11-19.

Ordinal Numbers: 1 – 10

The ordinal numbers are adjectives which follow the noun they modify. Since they are usually definite, the list below gives them with the definite article attached. Memorize the list below and then read the comments which follow.

First	ألأَوَّلُ (أٌولى feminine)
Second	الثّاني
Third	الثّالِثُ
Fourth	الرّابِعُ
Fifth	الْخامِسُ
Sixth	السّادِسُ
Seventh	السابعُ
Eighth	الثّامِنُ
Ninth	التّاسِعُ
Tenth	الْعاشِرُ

 

The ordinal for “first” is not related to واحد but comes from another root. Its feminine is the same pattern as that for the feminine elative; كبْرى from ( أكْبَرُ) is an example.

The ordinal for “second” is a defective adjective. Without the definite article it is ثانٍ. This word has the same characteristics as the defective words you studied in Chapter Two of Part II, words like قاضٍ. When made definite ثانٍ becomes الثاني just like قاضٍ becomes القاضي In the nominative and genitive this word will not show case, but it will have a fatha in the accusative. This is just as is the case for words like القاضي Note also that قاضٍ is an active participle. ثانٍ is also an active participle.

When made feminine ثانٍ becomes ثانية and always will have regular case endings.

To say “the first book” you will get الكتابُ الأَوَّلُ. The, ordinal follows the noun and agrees with it in definiteness, gender, and case. “The first letter” is الرسالةُ الأولى . As you know, words that end in alif maqsuura do not show case, so there is never a case marker أولى .

“The second book” is الكتابُ الثاني (no case on the cardinal because it is defective). “The second letter” is الرسالة الثانية .

The ordinals for 3 through 10 are all active participle patterns. Note that the ordinal for “sixth” is السادِس . This word is the only one of the ordinals from 3-10 which significantly deviates from the cardinal number.

Note also that the ordinal for “eight” is not defective, unlike the cardinal. Therefore the feminine form also will not have the defective ي. The feminine form is الثامنة.

Normally, all of the ordinals follow the noun they modify and agree with it in definiteness, case, and gender. Below are a few examples. Cover up the Arabic and read the English and try to generate the Arabic.

The fourth building	البناءُ الرابِعُ
The ninth car	السيارةُ التاسعةُ
The tenth day	اليوم العاشِرُ
The sixth page	الصفحةُ السادِسةُ

 

Sometimes these ordinals are placed before the noun in an idaafa construction with the same meaning. Thus “the first book” is أَوَّلُ كتابٍ and “the third time” is ثالث مرةٍ Note that the noun has no definite article but the translation is definite. This is just like the situation using the elative followed by the noun as in أطوَلُ نهر “the longest river.”

These ordinals take sound plurals in noun-adjective phrases. Thus “the first students” is الطلابُ الأولون

The next section will treat the cardinal numbers from 11 to 19. If you wish to continue with just the ordinals, skip the next section and go to the section which follows it. That section will deal with the ordinals from 11 to 19.

Cardinal Numbers: 11 – 19

Below are the cardinal numbers from 11 to 19 along with the Arabic symbols. Memorize them and then read the comments which follow.

Cardinal Number	Masculine	Feminine	Symbol
11	أحَدَ عَشَرَ	إِحْدى عَشْرةَ	١١
12 Nominative	إثْنا عَشَرَ	إثْنَتا عَشْرةَ	١٢
12 Acc./Gen.	إثْنَىْ عَشَرَ	إِثْنَتَيْ عَشْرةَ	١٢
13	ثلاثةَ عَشَرَ	ثلاثَ عَشْرةَ	١٣
14	أَرْبَعةَ عَشَرَ	أرْبعَ عَشْرةَ	١٤
15	خَمْسةَ عَشَرَ	خِمْسَ عَشْرةَ	١٥
16	سِتّةَ عَشَرَ	سِتَّ عَشْرةَ	١٦
17	سَبْعةَ عَشَرَ	سِبْعَ عَشْرةَ	١٧
18	ثَمانيةَ عَشَرَ	ثمانيَ عَشْرةَ	١٨
19	تِسْعةَ عَشَرَ	تِسْعَ عَشْرةَ	١٩

 

First look at the symbols for the numbers. Although Arabic goes from right to left, the numbers are arranged in the same order as in English, the tens column is to the left of the single digits column.

Now for even more fun. We will start with the numbers 11 and 12 since they present the most exciting challenge.

When the number 11 modifies a masculine word both the unit number أحد and the tens number , عَشرَ are masculine. However, they are both IN THE ACCUSATIVE WITHOUT NUNATION just as they are presented in the list above. The counted noun will follow the number and will be SINGULAR AND IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE WITH NUNATION. For example, “eleven books” is أحدَ عَشَرَ كتاباً .Remember that the noun is always singular, accusative and has nunation.

If the counted noun is feminine then both parts of the number 11 are converted to the feminine. The feminine of أحد is إحدى Since إحدى ends in an alif maqsuura it will not show case. However, the feminine of , عَشرَ will show the accusative case without having nunation. The feminine of عَشرَ is عَشرَة Note that a sukuun is placed over the ش in the feminine. “Eleven letters” is إحدى عَشرَة رسالة . Since رسالة is feminine, both words used in the number are also feminine.

Again, both elements of the number will be in the accusative (except for إحدى which cannot show case) and will not have nunation. Both elements of the number will agree with the counted noun in gender. The counted noun will always be singular, accusative, and will have nunation.

If you think 11 was fun, now we come to 12. Look at the examples below and then see my comments.

twelve books	إثْنا عَشرَ كتاباً
I read twelve books	قرأتُ إثْنىْ عَشرَ كتاباً
twelve letters	إثْنَتا عشرةَ رسالةً
I read twelve letters	قرأتُ إثْنىْ عَشرةَ رسالةَ

 

Essentially, 12 works just like 11 but with a unique twist. First, the similarities. The counted noun is always singular and accusative with nunation. The two elements of the number twelve both agree with the noun in gender. The second term of the number, عشر or عشرة , is always accusative without nunation.

The difference between 11 and 12 lies in the first element of the number. The first element in 12 is إثْنا for masculine nominative, but is إِثْنَىْ for the accusative and genitive. Thus, the first element does decline for case. The same is true when the first element is feminine. The feminine is إثْنَتا for the nominative and إِثْنَتَيْ for the accusative.

Now we come to the numbers 13-19 and things become much simpler. For 13-19 the rules are as follows:

1. The second element (عشر or عشرة) agrees with the counted noun in gender.

2. The first element ( ثلاثة, اربعة etc.) shows the reverse agreement that we saw for the numbers 3-10.

3. Both elements of the number are always accusative without nunation.

4. The counted noun is singular, accusative, and has nunation.

5. Baseball has too many divisions and should get rid of the wild card.

Below are some examples. Cover up the Arabic and try to produce it by looking at the English. Then look at the Arabic to check yourself. When you do so, review the four rules above one at a time and see how they apply to each example below.

fifteen professors (masculine)	خَمْسةَ عَشرَ أستاذاً
sixteen professors (feminine)	سِتَّ عَشْرَةَ استاذةً
nineteen morons (masculine)	تِسْعةَ عَشرَ بليداً
eighteen windows	ثمانيةَ عَشرَ شباكاً
seventeen airplanes	سَبْعَ عَشرةَ طائرةً
fourteen soldiers (masculine)	اربعةَ عَشرَ جندياً

 

If you got all of these right, you have mastered most of the grammar associated with Arabic numbers. As always, there is more. Keep smiling.

How would you say “fourteen great students?” “Fourteen students (masc.)” is أربعةَ عشرَ طالبا . The word “great” مُمتاز will be used to modify طالبا. Thus we get اربعة عشرَ طالبا ممتازا. The adjective remains singular and agrees with the noun in case.

How would you say “Fourteen great students went to the library?” If the verb comes first it will be singular, as usual. However, if the fourteen students come before the verb then the verb will be plural. Thus اربعةَ عشرَ طالبا ممتازا ذهبوا الى المكتبة

I love this.

“The fourteen students” is الطلابُ الاربعةَ عَشرَ Now the noun is plural. The unit number shows reverse agreement, is accusative and has the definite article. The tens number shows true agreement, is accusative, and does not have the definite article.

Now we come to the ordinal numbers from 11-19. If you wish to skip them, go to the section which follows.

Ordinal Numbers: 11-19

Below is a list of the ordinal numbers from 11-19. Enjoy them and then read the comments which follow.

Ordinal Number	Masculine	Feminine
eleventh	الحادِيَ عَشَرَ	الحادية عَشْرةَ
twelfth	الثانيَ عَشَرَ	الثانيةَ عَشْرةَ
thirteenth	الثالثَ عَشَرَ	الثالثةَ عَشْرةَ
fourteenth	الرابعَ عَشَرَ	الرابعةَ عَشْرةَ
fifteenth	الخامِسَ عَشَرَ	الخامسةَ عَشْرةَ
sixteenth	السادِسَ عَشَرَ	السادسةَ عَشْرةَ
seventeenth	السابعَ عَشَرَ	السابعةَ عَشْرةَ
eighteenth	الثامنَ عَشَرَ	الثامنةَ عَشْرةَ
nineteenth	التاسعَ عَشَرَ	التاسعةَ عَشْرةَ

 

The ordinals from 11 to 19 are always in the accusative case, just as are the cardinals. The ordinals work as regular adjectives in terms of gender agreement. Therefore, if the noun is masculine, both parts of the ordinal will be masculine. If the noun is feminine, both parts will be feminine. Only the first element will take the definite article. The second element never does. Note also that the word for “eleventh” is from a different root that the word for “one” واحد , or the word for “first” أَوَّل .

For “the seventeenth book” you say الكتابُ السابعَ عَشرَ Note that the ordinal is in the accusative while the noun is in the nominative. “The seventeenth letter” is الرسالةُ السابعةَ عَشرَةَ

The ordinals from 1-12 are used for telling time. See the section on telling time in the next chapter.

Now we come to the cardinal numbers from 20-99. If you wish to skip them, go to the next section to continue with the ordinals.

Cardinal Numbers: 20-99

Below are the numbers in Arabic for the tens. Memorize them now.

Cardinal Number	Nominative	Acc./Gen.
20	عِشْرونَ	عِشْرينَ	٢٠
30	ثَلاثونَ	ثَلاثينَ	٣٠
40	أَرْبَعونَ	أَرْبَعينَ	٤٠
50	خَمْسونَ	خَمْسينَ	٥٠
60	ستّونَ	ستّينَ	٦٠
70	سَبْعونَ	سَبْعينَ	٧٠
80	ثَمانونَ	ثَمانينَ	٨٠
90	تِسْعونَ	تِسْعينَ	٩٠

 

These numbers are easy to memorize as they are essentially the numbers 3 through 10 made plural. These numbers decline for case, just as masculine sound plurals do. The nouns they modify are singular, accusative,” and have nunation. These numbers have no feminine versions. Thus “50 male students” is خَمْسونَ طالبا and 50 female students is خَمْسونَ طالبة

In order to produce numbers such as 21, 22, 23, 98, etc., you use the numbers 1 through 9 along with the tens number. Loot at the examples below.

Now the issue is agreement. The unit numbers for one and two agree with the noun just as they do on their own. For example “twenty one books” is واحدٌ وعشرون كتابا or أحدٌ وعشرون كتابا . “Twenty one letters” is واحدةُ وعشرونَ رسالةً or إحْدى وعِشرونَ رسالة . The same agreement takes place whenever two is combined with one of the tens. The unit element will show regular case endings except for إحدى which, as you know, does not show case. The tens unit shows the cases just as a masculine sound plural would.

These compound numbers can also be made definite, as in “the twenty-three books” which is الكتبُ الثلاثُ والعشرون. Both elements are made definite. The first element takes the agreement characteristic of it, regular for 1 and 2, reverse for 3 through 9.

The next section treats the ordinals from 20-99. You may skip it if you wish to remain working with the cardinals.

Ordinal Numbers: 20-99

The ordinal numbers for the even tens are the same as the cardinals with the addition of the definite article. Thus العِشرونَ is “the twentieth” and التِسعونَ is “the ninetieth.” These ordinals will not decline for gender but will decline for case.

The compound ordinals used the same ordinals for the singles digits as you have seen before. Both the singles element and the tens element will have the definite article. The singles element will agree in gender and case. The tens element will agree only in case. Note that for “first,” الحادي is used here just as is the case with “eleventh.” Here are some examples.

the twenty-first day	اليومُ الحادي والعِشْرونَ
the twenty-first hour	الساعةُ الحاديةُ والعشرون
the fifty-sixth page	الصفحةُ السادسةُ والخمسون
the forty-fifth minute	الدقيقةُ الخامسةُ والاربعون
I read the thirty-ninth page	قرأتُ الصفحةَ التاسعةَ والثلاثين

 

We will now proceed to the last section on cardinal numbers. The final section on ordinal numbers will immediately follow it.

Cardinal Numbers: From 100 To As Close To Infinity As I Am Willing To Get

The word for “one hundred” is مِئةٌ Sometimes it is spelled differently – مائة. However, both spellings are pronounced “mi’ah.” The word is a noun and is used in an idaafa with the counted noun following in the singular. Thus “one hundred men” is مئة رجل. Since مئة is a noun we don’t have to worry about reverse agreement. It will always be feminine even when followed by a feminine noun. Thus “one hundred women” is مئة امرأةٍ

“Two hundred” is مئتانِ. The dual ending أنِ is simply added to مئة. This word is declined for case like any dual noun and will drop the ن when used in an idaafa. “Two hundred men” is مئتا رجلٍ. In the accusative/genitive it would be مئتيْ رجلٍ

The rest of the hundreds are themselves idaafas consisting of the numbers 3 through 9 written before مئة. Since مئة is a noun, the numbers will be masculine. However, مئة will remain singular. “Three hundred” is ثلاث مئة Often, the numbers 3 through 9 are attached to مئة but you will still have an idaafa. So “three hundred” can also be written ثلاثمئةٍ Note that ثلاث is still inflected for case. This latter way of doing the hundreds seems to be more common. “Three hundred men” is ثلاثمئتِ رجلٍ. Here are all of the hundreds.

one hundred	مِئة or مائة (both pronounced “mi”ah”)	١٠٠
two hundred	مئتانِ / مئتين in gen./acc.)	٢٠٠
three hundred	ثلاثُمئةٍ or ثلاثُ مئةٍ	٣٠٠
four hundred	أرْبَعُمئةٍ or أَرْبَعُ مئةٍ	٤٠٠
five hundred	خَمْسُمئةٍ or خَمسُ مئةٍ	٥٠٠
six hundred	سِتُّمئةٍ or سِتُّ مئةٍ	٦٠٠
seven hundred	سَبعُمئةٍ or سَبعُ مئةٍ	٧٠٠
eight hundred	ثَمانيمئةٍ or ثَماني مئةٍ	٨٠٠
nine hundred	تِسْعُمئةٍ or تِسْعُ مئةٍ	٩٠٠

Recall that the word for “eight” is defective. Therefore the ي on ثماني will show no case for nominative and genitive, but will show a fatha in the accusative.

two hundred five books	مئتان وخمسةُ كتبٍ
four hundred forty-four days	اربعمئةٍ واربعةٌ وارْبعون يوماً
five hundred seventeen men	خمسُمئةٍ وسبعةَ عشرَ رجلا
(eight hundred twenty-one students (masc	ثمانيمئةٍ وواحدٌ وعشرونَ طالباً
(six hundred eight teachers (fem	ستُمئةٍ وثماني مدرساتٍ

 

The word for “thousand” is ألْفٌ . Like مئة it is a noun. Unlike مئة it is masculine. When it is preceded by the numbers three through ten, in order to say “three thousand” etc., the number is feminine and the plural of الف , آلاف is used. Thus to say “three thousand men” you produce ثلاثةُ آلافِ رجلٍ.

You can see that what you have is a three-term idaafa.

When ألْف is preceded by a number greater than ten, it remains singular and is put into the accusative, just like any noun. Thus “twenty thousand” is عشرون ألْفاً If ألف is then followed by the counted noun , الف will be in an idaafa with that noun. “Twenty thousand men” is عشرون ألفَ رجلٍ

When ألْف is singular or dual, it works just like مئة. “One thousand nights” is الفُ ليلةٍ. “One thousand one nights” is الفُ ليلة وليلة . “One thousand two nights” is الفُ ليلةٍ وليلتان “Two thousand nights” is الفا ليلةٍ

The word for “million” is مِليون It works exactly as does ألْف . Its plural is ملايين The word for billion is مليار Do not confuse this word with مليون . مليار takes a feminine sound plural, but works in all ways just like الف and مليون . Now, just so that you will not think this has all been too easy – be aware that “billion” is also rendered by بِلْيون which has بَلايين as its plural. It too works like الف and مليون.

“Three million men” is ثلاثةُ ملايين رجلٍ and “three billion men” is ثلاثةُ ملياراتِ رجلٍ or ثلاثةُ بلايين رجلٍ.

Ordinal Numbers From 100 To As Close To Infinity As I Am Willing To Get

The words ملْيار , ملْيون , ألْف , مئة and بلْيون are also used as ordinals. “The one hundredth book” is الكتابُ المئةُ . “The one millionth book” is الكتابُ المليون. These words do not change for the feminine.

“The one thousandth night” is الليلة الألْفُ

If you can do the ordinals from 11-99, you will be able to do the ordinals from 101 to 1 less than infinity. Since مئة , الف , etc., do not change, all you need to remember are the rules for 11-99.

If you will remember, “the thirty-seventh lesson” is الدرس السابع والثلاثون . “The thirty seventh letter” is الرسالة السابعة والثلاثون . To say “the one hundred thirty-seventh book” you say الكتابُ المئة والسابع والثلاثون • For “the letter” you will say الرسالة المئة والسابعة والثلاثون.

The only gender agreement you need to worry about is for the ones unit. The other units agree only in case. If the ordinal you are using contains something in the teens, then you do have to worry about it a bit more since the word عشرة will also agree in gender, but it,won’t take the definite article. For example “the one million seventeenth mistake” is الخطأ المليون والسابعَ عشرَ

Note 1 – Remember that the word for “eight,” ثمانٍ/ثمانية is a defective word. Therefore, the final ي will only appear if the word is in an idaafa, as in the last example above, or is used with the definite article or with a pronoun suffix. (This does not apply to the ordinal “eighth,” الثامن , as I have indicated in a previous section.)

In sentences one and two above, the false idaafas are indefinite, even though the last term of each idaafa has the definite article. The same is true for sentence number three. The only difference in sentence three is that متعددة (“multi”) is feminine singular because it is modifying a noun-human plural. In each of the first three sentences, the false idaafa is acting as the predicate of an equational sentence.

Sentence four is a definite version of sentence three. Now the adjective متعددة has the definite article and the false idaafa is functioning as an adjective modifying the noun المفاوضات. Even though المتعددةِ is definite, it is still considered to be the first term of an idaafa and it puts the second term in the genitive case.

You will come across false idaafas from time to time in media Arabic and in literature. I deliberately did not mention them in Part I because of the importance of your mastering regular idaafas.

The material below is based largely on material dealing with the same subject in Chapters 34 and 44 of EMSA, Vol. II. Look there for more examples.

Some verbs in Arabic will have two accusative objects. The verb “to give” أعطى is perhaps the most commonly used example. In English we understand that one of the objects is the direct object and the other the indirect object. In the sentence “I gave the student the dead fish,” “the fish” is the direct object and “the student” is the indirect object. Now look at the ways this can be said in Arabic and see the comments which follow.

1. I gave the student the dead fish.	١. أعْطيتُ الطالبَ السمكةَ المَيِّتةَ.
2. I gave the dead fish to the student.	٢. أعطيتُ السمكةَ الميتةَ للطالبِ.
3. I gave it to the student.	٣. أعطيتها للطالبِ.
4. I gave it to him.	٤. أعطيتُها لَهُ.
5. I gave him the dead fish.	٥. أعطيتُهُ السمكةَ الميتةَ.
6. I gave him it.	٦. أعطيتُهُ إيّاها.

 

In Arabic we would say أعطيتُ الطالبَ السمكةَ المَيِّتة , which is what we said in sentence one. In such a construction the first object (the indirect object) can also be placed after the second object (the direct object). The preposition لِ is then added to the indirect object. Thus أعطيتُ السمكةَ الميتةَ للطالبِ “I gave the dead fish to the student” which is what we have in sentence two.

We can now also replace both (السمكة (الميتة and الطالب with object pronouns. This is what we have done in sentences three and four.

These transformations often occur with verbs of giving such as أعطى , وهب and منح .

Now going back to our original sentence أعطيتُ الطالبَ السمكةَ الميتة , we can make other changes. First, we can replace the indirect object, الطالب, with an object pronoun and get أعطيتهُ السمكة الميتة,”I gave him the dead fish.” This is what we have in sentence five. Now we can take this sentence and replace the direct object with an object pronoun too. However, when we do this, we must precede that pronoun with the particle إيّا .Thus, we get what we wrote in sentence six – أعطيتُهُ إيَاها . This use of إيّا is rare today in journalistic Arabic, but is commonly used in some of the dialects.

Other verbs such as فهّم (“to make someone understand”), فسّر (“to explain”), and درّس (“to teach”) can behave like verbs of giving.

Verbs of considering are another category of doubly transitive verbs. Included among such verbs are عَدَّ (“to count,” “to consider”), إعتبر (“to consider”) and وجد (“to find” something to be something). For example وجد سامي العربية جميلة, “Sami found Arabic (to be) a beautiful language.” This category of verbs does not allow the transformations using لِ and إيّا which we saw above.

The third group of doubly transitive verbs consists of verbs of transformation such as عيّن (“to appoint”), إنتخب (“to elect”), and جعل (“to make”). You have most likely seen sentences such as عيّنْتُ هذا الرجلَ وزيراً “I appointed this man as a minister.” Here, the subject transforms the first object into the second object.

1. I gave the student the book.	١. أعطيتُ الطالبَ الكتابَ
The student was given the book.	أُعْطِيَ الطالبُ الكتابَ
2. They gave the book to the student.	٢. أعطيتُ الكتابَ للطالبِ
The book was given to the student.	أُعْطِيَ الكتابُ للطالبِ
3. We considered him a great man.	٣. إعتبرناهُ رجلا عظيما
He was considered a great man.	أُعتُبِرَ رجلا عظيما
4. The American people elected the Democratic candidate president.	٤. أنتخب الشعب الامريكي المرشحَ الديموقراطيَ رئيسا
The Democratic candidate was elected president.	أُنتخبَ المرشحُ الديمقراطيُ رئيسا

.
.

Indeclinable nouns and adjectives end in alif maqsuura with two fathas representing nunation. For example, مُسْتَشْفَى Often the nunation is not pronounced, but it will be written in a fully-vocalized text. Indeclinables do not show case, so the two fathas do not represent a case ending. If the word is made definite, the two fathas disappear – المستشفى Again, no case marker will be added.

Therefore, an indeclinable is either indefinite with nunation (indicated by two fathas) or definite without nunation (no fathas). No case marker will ever be put on a masculine singular indeclinable.

All defective verbs in Forms II-X have passive participles which are indeclinables. In fact, مُسْتَشفى is the passive participle of the Form X verb إسْتَشفى . Since they can be used as nouns and adjectives, indeclinables can be made feminine and can take sound human plurals, masculine and feminine. We will use the passive participle of the verb سمَّى to name” in the examples below.

The passive participle of سمّى is مُسَمَّى “named.” “The boy is named Sami” is الولدُ مُسَمَّى سامي. Here مُسَمَّى is the predicate of an equational sentence. Therefore, it should be in the nominative case. However, indeclinables do not show case. The two fathas indicate only the presence of nunation because the word is indefinite. (By the way, very, very often, the nunation is not pronounced in these words. So what you will usually hear is “musamma” instead of “mussamman.”)

“The boy named Sami is here” is الولدُ المُسَمّى سامي موجودٌ هنا. Now المسمى does not have nunation because it is definite. It will show no case marker at all.

“The girl is named Samiira” is البنتُ مُسَمَاةٌ سميرة The alif maqsuura is changed to an alif in the feminine. The alif is followed by a ة . Since words that end in ة have regular case endings, the two dhammas appear over the ة in our sentence. “The girl named Samiira” is البنتُ المسماة سميرة

The masculine sound plural of مسمَّى is مُسَمَّوْنَ in the nominative and مُسَمَّيْنَ in the genitive/accusative. The plurals keep a fatha as a stem vowel and thus they are pronounced with diphthongs.

The feminine sound plural is مُسَمَّياتٌ and will take the case endings of any sound feminine plural. Many indeclinables which are passive participles of derived verbs will have feminine sound plurals, whether they are referring to human beings or not. For example, the plural of مُسْتَشفى is مُسْتَشْفَياتٌ .

Indeclinables can be made dual. They are all regular in the dual. For مُسمَّى, the nominative dual form is مُسَمَّيانِ and the genitive/accusative is مُسَمَّيَيْنِ. In the feminine the forms are مُسَمَّيتانِ and مُسَمَّيتيْنِ .

When a masculine singular indeclinable has a pronoun suffix attached, the alif maqsuura becomes an alif as in “his hospital” مستشفاهُ .

Some indeclinables are not passive participles of derived verbs. مَعْنىً and مَقْهًى are examples. These two nouns happen to be place nouns. Their plurals are مَعانٍ and مقاهٍ , respectively. These two plurals are defectives.

A very small number of indeclinables end in an alif instead of an alif maqsuura if the last radical of the word is a waaw and the word has only the three letters of its root. عصًا “stick” is the most common example.

Not all words that end in alif maqsuura are indeclinables. For example, فَتْوى and كبرى These words differ from indeclinables only in that they never take the two fathas. They never show case or nunation.

So Why Is This Important?

Since the two fathas so frequently referred to above are usually never pronounced anyway, you can pretty much forget them. However, you need to be aware of the following:

• 1. Passive participles of defective verbs in Forms II-X are indeclinables.
• 2. The feminine singular form of these indeclinables looks funny – as in مُسَماة .
• 3. When these words (and any other noun ending in alif maqsuura) have a possessive pronoun attached, the alif maqsuura becomes an alif – مستشفاهُ ُ

Item 3 above also applies to words like فتوى which are not indeclinables. So you may see فتواهُ “his fatwa”. (A fatwa is a legal opinion delivered concerning a point of Islamic law.)

The term “diptote” is composed of “di” meaning “two” (and sometimes a “princess”) and “tote” which I believe is a kind of umbrella. Diptotes have long posed a problem for the student whose teacher insists on correct vocalization of every word in a text. The problem arises both because diptotes only show two cases when they are indefinite and because students do not know how to spot a diptote. (See note 1 below)

Here is everything you will ever need to know about them.

When a diptote is indefinite it will not have nunation. مَصادرُ “sources” is a diptote. It will only have one dhamma even when indefinite. If the word is accusative it will have one fatha as in مصادرَ If the word is genitive it will not have a kasra. It will still take a FATHA. For example منْ مصادرَ “from sources.” Do you like this? It gets better.

If a diptote is made definite, it will show all three cases in a regular way: المصادرَ , المصادرِ^, المصادرُ. So a diptote is regular when it is definite. (That is, it becomes a triptote – I am not kidding.)

In addition, when a diptote is any term except the last term of any idaafa it will always have regular case endings. It does not matter whether or not the idaafa is definite or indefinite. For example مكاتبُ, is a diptote meaning “offices.” Look at its case in the two sentences below.

1. We were in the offices of the big shots.	١. كنا في مكاتبِ الموظفين الكبار.
2. We were in offices of big shots.	٢. كنا في مكاتبِ موظفين كبار.

 

 

In both sentences مكاتب has a kasra since it is in an idaafa but it is not the last term of the idaafa.

If the diptote is the last term in the idaafa it will have regular case endings if it is definite. What “regular case endings” means is that the diptote will have a kasra, since the only case for the last term of an idaafa is the genitive. For example, قائمةُ المصادرِ “the list of sources.”

However, if the diptote is the last term of an indefinite idaafa then it will behave just as it does when it is indefinite and not in an idaafa – it will have one fatha to show that it is in the genitive case. For example قائمةُ مصادرَ “a list of sources.”

Here is the run down once more:

1. Whenever a diptote is definite, it takes regular case endings.

2. When a diptote is in a definite or indefinite idaafa, but is not the last term of the idaafa, it takes regular case endings.

3. When a diptote is the last term of idaafa, it will be regular if it is definite (it will take a kasra), but it will take a fatha if it is indefinite.

4. When a diptote is indefinite and not in an idaafa, it never has nunation. It takes one dhamma for nominative and one fatha for both the accusative and genitive cases.

The next issue you must face with respect to these words is: Would you know a diptote if it walked up and introduced itself? The answer is no. So how do you know a diptote when you see one? There are a number of categories of words which are diptotes. I will talk about the major ones here.

Broken Plurals

There are certain patterns of broken plurals which are diptotic patterns. The chief one is the plural pattern for place nouns. متحفٌ , مكتبٌ and even مدرسةٌ are place nouns. Their plurals are متاحفُ , مكاتبُ and مدارسُ. All place-noun plurals are diptotes.

Another pattern which is diptotic is represented by the plural of عاملٌ (“factor”). The plural is عَوامِلُ. Here you have the long vowel alif before the second radical and a kasra on the second radical (just as you do with place noun plurals). Usually this pattern of alif before the second radical and a kasra underneath the second radical gives a diptote.

The plural of فريضة (“obligation”) is فرائضُ . Here a hamza is inserted between the alif and the last radical. When this happens you have a diptote.

اسابيعُ ,the plural of أُسبوعٌ is a diptote. Here we have a pattern of alif, second radical, and a yaa’ (instead of a kasra). This pattern is also diptotic.

Another diptotic pattern occurs when an alif and a hamza are added to the end of the plural form. For example, the plural of رئيس is رُؤَساء Here the alif comes after the last radical of the word and is followed by a hamza with no seat. Note that neither the alif nor the final hamza represent one of the radicals of the word رئيس When this happens you have a diptote.

On the other hand, the singular noun بناءٌ is not a diptote. The alif represents the weak final radical. The plurals أَسماءٌ and أبْناءٌ are also not diptotes. The alif at the end of these two plural words represents a i fnal weak radical in the root of each word.

The masculine plural of the elative is also a diptote. The pattern is أفاعِلُ . For example, the plural of أكبرُ is أكابِرُ. Note that the plural has the pattern of alif , second radical, and kasra.

These are the most common broken plural patterns which result in diptotes.

Singular Nouns and Adjectives

The most common diptotic pattern for singular words in the elative pattern – أكْرَمُ , أكْبَرُ etc. Of course, since the elative often occurs at the beginning of an idaafa, you will often see it taking regular case endings.

Some adjectives end in ان as in عَطْشانُ (“thirsty”) and غَضْبانٌ (“angry”) . These words are diptotes.

Proper Nouns

All feminine,personal names are diptotes. Therefore even if a woman’s name is كريمةُ the word will be a diptote. If كريمةٌ is used as a regular adjective, it will take are regular case endings.

All place names are diptotes unless they have the definite article or end in the feminine sound plural اتٌ. Thus مصرُ and دمشقُ are diptotes. However, الاردنُ It and السودانُ will take case endings the way any definite word does.

Masculine personal names are usually diptotes. However, if the name happens to be a regular noun or adjective it will be regular with respect to case (unlike the situation for feminine names). For example, فَريدٌ is a common man’s name. It is also a regular adjectival pattern. Therefore, it takes normal case endings. (Note that the rule here is the opposite from the rule for feminine personal names, since all feminine personal names are diptotes no matter what.)

Masculine personal names with only three letters and which have a sukuun on the second letter take regular case endings. Thus زَيْدٌ and نوحُ are regular nouns with respect to case. However, إبراهيمُ , آدّمُ and يوسُّفُ are diptotes.

Many teachers do not lay stress on the case endings for proper names due to the difficulty of remembering all the rules regarding them. Personally, I agree with that policy. However, you should be aware of the rules regarding common nouns and adjectives which are diptotes.

Note 1 – Throughout this chapter, I am relying on the definitions of terms such as “diptote” and “indeclinable” as they are used in EMSA, volumes I and II. EMSA’s definition of these terms is not always standard, but it does impress me as the most accessible. To see a more classical based set of definitions and descriptions of these terms, see Chapter 44 of Haywood/Nahmad, entitled “Declension of the Noun.”

This section is intended for use as a reference and for occasional perusal. The number of words and phrases included below could easily be expanded considerably. As you read the language more you will come across many items similar to those below. Little words and phrases such as these are a key ingredient in developing fluency. Here is a list of the items discussed in this chapter.

1.  The Uses of ما

2.  لا

3.  قّبْلّ أنْ and بَعْدَ أَنْ

4.  بَيْدَ أَنْ

5.  لابُدَّ مِنْ

6.  حَيْثُ

7.  رَغْمَ

8.  سَواءً كانَ

9.  على أَنْ

10.  كَ And Its Uses

11.  كادَ

12.  كَم

13.  قَدْ

14.  لَم يَعُدْ

15.  ما لَبِثَ

16.  إلا

17.  مُنْذُ

18.  مَعَ أَنَّ

19.  أَمّا . . . فَ

20.  إِمّا

21.  الأمرُ ألَّذي

22. بغَضّ النَّظَر عن and بِ صَرْفِ النَّظَر عن

23. ئذٍ

24.  يَجبُ أَنْ

1.  The Uses of ما

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ما is a very commonly used word in MSA and has a multitude of meanings. Unless you are familiar with the variety of the meanings and uses of this word, you are apt to err in your comprehension from time to time. First, I will review the uses of ما you have already seen in this text. Then, I will take you through the word’s other meanings.

ما is used as a question word meaning “what” in equational sentences. You saw this in Part I of this text in sentences such as ما اسمك , ما هذا , etc.

On the other hand, ماذا is used as a question word in sentences using verbs such as ماذا شربتَ في المطعم.

You have also seen that ما can be used to negate the past tense. So you will see ما درستُ“I did not study.” ما is also used to negate the result clause of conditional sentences which use لو as in لو عرفتُ أنْ المراسل ابله لما تكلمت معه.

In Chapter Five of Part II, you saw that ما can be used as a relative pronoun when the antecedent is not mentioned. For example, the well-known novel by Ghassan Kanafani entitled ما تبقّى لكم uses ما in this way. The title of the book means “What You Have Left” (literally “What Remains To You”). How would you translate the following: علّم الانسانَ ما لم يَعْلَمْ ? See the Quran, Sura 96, v. 5.

Now we come to uses of ما which have not been covered in this text.

ما can be written after a noun to give the noun the meaning of “some” as in “some house” or “some person.” The former is بيتٌ ما the latter is شخصٌ ما . The noun will always be indefinite with nunation and can be in any case required by the sentence. See below..

1. Some professor addressed us about the Middle East.	١. أستاذٌ ما خاطبنا عن الشرق الاوسط.
2. I read that piece of news in some book.	٢. قرأتُ ذبك الخبر في كتابٍ ما.

 

So beware of ما coming right after a noun.

ما often combines with other little words to form idiomatic expressions. For example ما أنْ is used to mean “no sooner … than . . .”. Look at the sentence below.

No sooner had Samiir sat down in his chair than the police entered and took him to prison.

ما أن جلس سمير على كرسيه حتى دخلت الشرطة واخذته الى السجن.

 

Notice that أَنْ is followed by a past tense verb and that the sentence is completed with a clause using حتى also followed by the past tense. If أنْ is followed by a subjunctive verb the phrase means “as soon as .” For example:

Indeed there are dangers which threaten the basis upon which the United Nations stands which imposes upon all those who believe in this organization to come together to defend it.

فإنّ هناك اخطارا تُهَدَّدُ الاساس الذي تقوم عليه الاممُ المتحدة مِمَّا يفرض على جميع الذين يُؤمِنونَ بهذه المنظمة . . . أنْ يجتمعوا الآن للدفاع عنها.

 

The sentence above is taken from Gamal Abd Al-Nasir’s address before the United Nations in 1960. I have given you a literal translation so that you can follow easily. In fact, this sentence has a lot of grammar in it. But the point I want you to see here is that مِمّا refers to the existence of اخطار and to the fact that these اخطار. are a threat to the United Nations. The verb يفرض has مِمّا as its subject. The verb is masculine singular because the word ما used as a relative pronoun is always considered to be masculine singular. مِمّا is referring to the entire clause which precedes it and not to any (one) particular word.

1. How noble this student is!	١. ما أكْرَمَ هذا الطالبَ.
2. How beautiful Fairuz’s voice is!	٢. ما أجْمَلَ صوتَ فيروز.
3. How stupid this correspondent is!	٣. ما اغبى هذه المراسلة.
4. How noble they are!	٤. ما أكْرَمَهُم.

 

The adjective turned verb is always masculine singular and the noun after them is always accusative. You can create such a construction using the elative of just about any adjective for which there is an elative form.

There are other uses of ما. In my opinion, these are the main ones. The entry in Wehr under ما will give a few others, so if you see ما being used and you do not understand the sentence or the clause, check here and in Wehr and you should be able to figure out the meaning.

2.  لا

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لا means “no” and is used to answer a yes or no question. It is also used to negate the present tense. For example, لا تدرسُ اللغة العربيةَ, “You do not study Arabic.”

لا is used with the jussive to give negative commands. لا تدرسْ اللغة العربيةَ means “Do not study Arabic.” لا can also be used with سوف and the present tense to negate the future. سوف لا تدرس اللغة العربيةَ means “You will not study Arabic.”

لا is also used with nouns, as in the following: لا طالب في هذا الصف “There are no students in this classroom.” The noun after لا is singular, indefinite, and accusative. You no doubt have heard the expression لا إله إلا الله “There is no god but God.” This used of لا is called absolute negation.

Lately, لا has been put into compound form with various nouns, usually to produce a term for a concept, often with philosophical meaning. For example, لا شيء can just mean “nothing” or it can meaning “nothingness” as a concept. You will find a number of these sorts of terms under لا in Hans Wehr. (Although, Wehr uses لا شيئية for “nothingness.”) When used in this way, لا can itself be made definite as in اللاوعي. “the unconscious.” Usually students miss what is going on the first time they see such a construction.

You will also see لا used in a number of set phrases such as لا شَكْ (“no doubt”), لابُدَّ من (“inevitable, necessary”), and لا سيَّما (“especially”). Many of these phrases can be found in Wehr under the entry for لا.

The parliament drew up the new constitution however the King has said that it is not practical.

البرلمان أقرَّ الدستور الجديد بيدَ أنَ الملك أعلن انه غير عمليّ.

5.  لابُدَّ من

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The phrase literally means “There is no escape from (something).” It is normally translated as “inevitable” or by “must”. For example:

 

بِحيثُ is a very common combination, so be on the look out for it. Note that the dhamma on حيثُ remains even when it is preceded by a preposition.

حيثُ أنَّ means “because,” “since,” or “due to the fact that.” It can usually be replaced by لأنَّ.

Due to the fact that the mayor of the city is an idiot, the city has become a laughingstock.

حيثُ أنّ عُمدة المدينة ابله فقد اصبحت المدينة مسخرة.

You will understand Arabic provided that you study every day.

ستفهم اللغة العربية على أنْ تدرسَ كل يوم.

 

This little phrase occurs surprisingly often and is usually misunderstood by students. It is in the Hans Wehr under على

كاد is also used idiomatically when negated with ما or with ما كاد , لم and لم يَكَدْ mean “no sooner … than.” Examine the sentence below.

Do not confuse . يَكادُ , كاد with the verb يَكيدُ , كادَ which means “to deceive.”

12.  كَم

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The discussion below is an abridgment of the presentation presented in Wright, Volume II, pages 125-127.

كم is most often used with the meaning of “how much?” or “how many?”. It is followed by a singular noun in the accusative with nunation. For example, كم ساعة درست اليوم ؟ “How many hours did you study today?” If the noun is question is followed by a verb or an adjective, the verb will be singular and the adjective will be singular and accusative with nunation. For example, كم مندوبا عربيا حضر المؤتمر ؟ “How many Arab delegates attended the conference?”

The accusative used with كم in the examples above is considered to be a form of the accusative of specification, the تمييز (The accusative of specification is treated in Chapter 6 of Part II.) So the first question above really means “How long, with respect to hours, did you study today?” The second question is “How many, with respect to Arab delegates, attended the conference?”.

You will also see كم used in sentences such as the following: كم عُمْرُك ؟ and كم مُرَتَّبُكَ ؟ . The first question means “How old are you?” The second is “How much is your salary?” Here the noun following كم is in the nominative instead of the accusative. The accusative noun, called the مُمَيِّز , has been omitted from these sentences. Sentence one is short for كم سنة عمرُك؟. Sentence two is short for كم دولارا مرتبُك؟. In a similar vein, كم may be followed by a verb, as in كم قرأتَ؟ “How much did you read?”.

كم can also be used in an exclamatory way, as in “How many books I have read!”. When used this way, كم is often followed by مِنْ. For example: كم من كتابٍ قرأتُ. The مِن can be left out, but the noun after كم will remain genitive, as in كم كتابٍ قرأتُ. When , كم is used this way, the plural of the noun is sometimes used instead of the singular.

13.  قَدْ

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قد has two basic uses. The first is with a verb in the imperfect. When followed by an imperfect verb, قد means “may” or “might.”

The teacher might kill his students if he discovers that they are not prepared for class.

قد يقتل الاستاذ طلابه إذا اكتشف انهم ليسوا مستعدين للصف.

 

To negate such a sentence, insert لا between قد and the verb.

قد is also used with the perfect. When followed by a perfect tense verb, .s can mean “already,” “had,” or merely be an intensifier which is best left untranslated. Look at the sentence below.

Mahmoud had (has) studied in Cairo.

قد درس محمود في القاهرة.

 

In the above sentence, the translation depends on the context in which the sentence occurs. If we want to say that Mahmoud does not want to return to Cairo because he has studied there, we would say:

لا يريد محمود أنْ يرجع الى القاهرة لانه قد درس هناك.

But if we want to say that he did not want to return to Cairo because he had (already) studied there, we would change the verb in the first clause to the perfect tense (or use لم and the jussive).قد would then be translated as “had.”

 

In the Arabic sentence above, أنْ is followed by a verb in the past tense. أنْ can be replaced by حتى with no change in meaning.

16.  إلاّ

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إلاّ is a combination of لا and إنْ . It means “except” in sentences such as “I understand everything about Arabic except the grammar, vocabulary, and syntax..” Normally إلا is used in a negative sentence. Study the example below.

No one reads this paper except for young people.

لا يقرأ احدٌ هذه الجريدة إلا الشبابُ.

 

Look at the case on the word الشبابُ The word is in the nominative, since it would have been the subject of the verb if not for the construction using إلا. In a negative sentence, the word after إلا takes whatever case it would have had otherwise. Here is another example:

1. I did not desire anything except the study of Arabic.	١. لم ارغب في شيءٍ إلا دراسة العربية.
2. I did not desire (anything) except the study of Arabic.	٢. لم ارغب إلا في دراسة العربية.

 

The two sentences above are different versions of the same thing. The object of the preposition في is in the genitive case. Therefore, دراسة is genitive when coming after إلا in the first sentence, because في is implied again in the sentence after إلا and because without إلا (and شيء) in the sentence, دراسة would be the object of the preposition. في (Some texts will tell you that you have the option of making the noun after إلا accusative in sentences such as the one above irrespective of what case the word would be in otherwise. You will see this variation occasionally.)

When إلا is used in positive sentences, the word after إلا (the thing being excepted) is put into the accusative. For example:

Everyone reads this paper except young people.

يقرأ كلُ الناس هذه الجريدة إلا الشباب.

 

إلا إذا means “unless” and is followed by a verb in the past tense.

You will not understand Arabic unless you study a great deal.

سوف لا تتقن اللغة العربية إلا إذا درستَ كثيرا.

 

17.  مُنْذُ

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مُنْذُ is a contraction of مِنْ and ذو . It is usually translated as “since” or “ago.” When followed by a noun, the noun is in the genitive case.

1. He studied Arabic a year ago.	١. درس العربية منذ سنةٍ.
2. I have not read my Arabic book since Thursday and I have forgotten everything.	٢. لم أقرأ كتابي منذ يوم الخميس وقد نسيت كل شيء

 

It is also common for both أما and فَ to be dropped. For example:

This man we consider as a wager of corruption on Earth.

هذا الرجل نعتبرهُ مُفسدا في الارض.

 

20.  إِمّا

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(not to be confused with أمّا), is used for “either … or” constructions in Arabic. It can be followed by a verb in the indicative, or it can be followed by a noun in the nominative. إمّا can also be followed by أنْ plus a verb in the subjunctive, or by أنَّ plus a noun in the accusative. None of these variations will affect the meaning. The second clause is preceded وإمّا or أَوْ . Look at the sentences below.

This phrase is used much the way مِمّا is.

22.  بغَضّ النَّظَر عن and بِ صَرْفِ النَّظَر عن   

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Both of these phrases mean “irrespective of’ or “regardless of.” They are very common in editorials and opinion pieces.

Irrespective of the importance of Islam in uniting the Arabs, there are other bonds which unite them.

بصرف النظر عن اهمية الاسلام في توحيد العرب فهناك روابط اخرى تجمع بينهم.

24.  يَجبُ أَنْ

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The phrase يجب أنْ is invariably in the masculine singular. It means literally “It is necessary that” but is usually translated by “must.” يجب أنْ is followed by a verb in the subjunctive conjugated for the appropriate person. يجب أنْ أذهبَ means “I must go.”

The phrase is negated with ألاّ which is a combination of أنْ and لا. “I must not go” is يجب ألاّ أذهبَ

If لا is placed before يجب as in لا يجبُ ان تذهبَ. the meaning should be “it is not necessary that you go” (“You do not have to go”). However, sometimes this use of لا is intended to mean “You must not go.” Good luck.

With كان in the masculine singular, يجب أنْ is placed in the past tense. “I had to go” is كان يجب انْ اذهبَ If كان is negated with لم or ما the meaning is “did not have to” do something. لم يكن يجب أن تذهبَ means “You did not have to go.”. However كان يجب ألا تذهبَ means “It was necessary that you not go.” In other words “You should not have gone.”

The preposition على is often used with يجب Look at the following sentence.

The student must go to school.

يجب على الطالبة انْ تذهبَ الى المدرسة.

 

Often على has a pronoun suffix attached to it instead of a noun following in the genitive. “You must go to school” is يجب عليك انْ تذهبَ الى المدرسة

على can even be used without يجب but يجب will be understood. “You must go to school” can be rendered عليك انْ تذهبَ الى المدرسة

As you may know, أنْ and the following subjunctive verb can always be replaced by the verbal noun of that verb. (See the section on أنْ in Chapter Four of Part II.) Therefore, “you must go to school” can be rendered by either يجب عليك الذهابُ الى المدرسة or just by عليك الذهابُ الى المدرسة. . Note that the verbal noun is in the nominative case. It is considered to be the subject of the sentence.

 

 

The conditional is a very important item in Arabic, as it is in other languages. I consider it to be an essential item to be mastered by the non-native student of the language, which is why I have included it in Part II of this book and not Part III, which contains elements of lesser priority.

One quick tip before we begin. If you ever need to impress someone with your spoken (or written) Arabic, use a conditional sentence in your conversation. It will give the impression that you have more control over the language than you may actually have. This is particularly helpful if you are being tested orally. Arabic conditional sentences are very easy to produce, yet they sound more complicated that they are and give the illusion of conveying complex meanings.

If you were to pick up an English grammar book and study the conditional sentence in English, you would find that there are essentially three kinds of conditional sentences in English and that differentiating between them and their meanings is not very difficult. However, if you continued reading the rest of the section on the conditional, you would find that there are approximately one billion variations of the use of the conditional in English based on those three basic types. The variations can be very subtle and can be very difficult for natives, never mind non-natives, to grasp.

In Arabic too, there are three basic types of conditional sentences. They do not quite correspond to the ones in English, but they are even easier to grasp than the English models. The three basic types of conditional sentences have only about two hundred and fifty thousand variations, so again, the Arabic is easier than the English. However, despite this relative ease, the conditional in Arabic can appear to be quite complex to the poor shell-shocked American student. Furthermore, if you were to compare the explanations of the conditional in the most commonly available texts, you would find that they often contradict one another and stress different aspects of the conditional. Some texts leave out things which are very important, while other texts place great emphasis on things which rarely, if ever, occur these days.

The following explanation is based in large part on my own personal experience in learning the language and teaching it. I am going to divide the conditional into three categories. The first is what you absolutely must know. The second is what you should know in addition, but which you could (possibly) figure out for yourself when you come across it (some of which is not included in other texts). The third category includes things which are rarer but which I am including for the sake of pseudo completeness. I am indebted to EMSA and to Haywood/Nahmad, as will be clear from what is below. However I am going to present things in a manner different from both in some respects. I am also going to leave out some things which they do cover, but which you will never see. Here goes.

There are three words in Arabic which are equivalent to the English word “if” These three words are إذا, إنْ and لَوْ. إذا is the most common of the three and will be dealt with first. After that I will treat إنْ, which is the least common of the three. However, its use is not very different from إذا , so it is convenient to group the two together. لَوْ will be treated last, but it is a very important word.

1. If you go to that restaurant,you will eat superb Arabic food.	١  إذا ذهبتَ الى ذلك المطعم فستأكلُ طعاما عربيا ممتازا
2. If you go to that restaurant, you will never eat superb Arabic food.	٢  إذا ذهبتَ الى ذلك المطعم فَلَنْ تأكل طعاما عربيا ممتازا.
3. If you go to that restaurant, eat superb Arabic food.	٣  إذا ذهبتَ الى ذلك المطعم فَكُلْ طعاما عربيا ممتازا.

 

The result clauses of each of the three Arabic sentences above all use verbs which are not in the past tense. Each of those clauses begins with فَ. The third sentence has a command in its result clause. This is very common. (I hope you remember how to form the commands for verbs such as أخذ and أكل.) The point is that the result clause can have anything that makes sense as long as it conveys the meaning you wish it to convey. When that clause does not use a simple past tense verb, the clause must begin with فَ .

Now for another important variation. How would you say, “If you do not go to that restaurant you will not eat superb Arabic food”? Look at the answer below.

إذا لم تذهبْ الى ذلك المطعم فسوف لا تأكلُ طعاما عربيا ممتازا.

 

The verb with إذا must be negated with لم and the jussive. There is no other way. The verb in the result clause may be negated in any appropriate way. For example, we can negate the result clause as well using لم and the jussive and have the sentence mean the same thing. However, such usage of لم in the result clause is extremely rare.

As I noted above, إذا can sometimes even be translated as “when,” depending on the strength of the expectancy involved. Thus, it could be possible to translate our model conditional sentence as “When you go to the restaurant …” In fact, إذا is often used used to mean “when” or “whenever” in both classical and modem literature. When used this way, the result clause often does not begin with a ف even when a non-perfect tense verb is used.

إنْ also means “if’. It does not imply any likelihood that the condition will happen. It is used exactly like إذا . It is usually followed by a past tense verb. When negated, the conditional verb is negated with لم and the jussive. The result clause is usually in the past tense as well. If the result is not in the past tense, then فَ must precede the result clause as is the case with إذا. (See note 1 below) Therefore, we could replace إذا with إنْ in every single illustration above with no important change in meaning. So you can mentally do so now if you need to in order to ingrain this in your mind.

Now we come to لَوْ. لَوْ also means “if’ but is only used for contrary to fact conditions. Look at the sentence below.

If you had read that book you would have understood the issue of Palestine.

.لو قرأت ذلك الكتاب لَفهمتَ قضية فلسطين

 

The result clause is also always in the past tense. Normally the result clause is preceded by لَ The function of the لَ is just to tell you that the result clause is coming. Some texts say that the لَ is mandatory, but that is not the case. However, the لَ is almost always used these days.

The clause with لو is negated with لم and the jussive. The result clause is negated only with ما to which the لَ is usually attached. Thus, our model sentence above would be negated as follows.

This depends on whether the two sides agree.

هذا يعتمد على ما إذا وافق الطرفان

 

A third item is إلاّ إذا which means “unless.” For example:

We will not see progress unless the two sides sit together.

لن نرى تقدما إلا إذا تجالس الطرفان

 

وَ and حتى are used with both إنْ and لَوْ to mean “even if.” حتى is also used with إذا to mean the same thing. Here are examples.

1. I will not speak with him, even if he pleads with me.	١. لن اتكلم معه حتى إِذا توسّل اليَّ.
2. I will not speak with him, even if he pleads with me.	٢. لن اتكلم معه وإنْ توسّل اليَّ.
3. I will not speak with him,even if he pleads with me.	٣. لن اتكلم معه ولو توسّل اليَّ.

 

لولا means “if not for” and is followed by a noun in the nominative case. For example:

If not for Islam, the Arabic language would not have spread.

لولا الإسلام لَما إنتشرت اللغة العربية

Sometimes the verb كان is used along with the past tense of a verb in the conditional clause if the meaning is in the past tense and the speaker or writer wishes to remove any element of doubt about the tense of that clause. For example, let’s look at the model sentence with which we began this enterprise. This time, our meaning is in the past tense.

1. If you have gone to that restaurant, then you have eaten good Arabic food.	١. إذا (إنْ) ذهبتَ الى ذلك المطعم أكلت طعاما عر ممتازا
2. If you have gone to that restaurant, then you have eaten good Arabic food.	٢. إذا (إنْ) كنتَ ذهبتَ الى ذلك المطعم أكلت طعاما عربيا ممتازا.

 

Sometimes you will see كان used as it is in the second sentence above to avoid any ambiguity. Also, if the subject is before the main verb, كان will be used immediately after إذا , إنْ or لَوْ Thus إنْ كان المدير ذهب “If the director has gone …” Sometimes قد. may be added as well إنْ كان المديرُ قد ذهب

There is one other thing about which you should be aware. There are a number of little words in Arabic which have conditional force. These words, like the actual conditional particles, are followed by the verb in the past tense but the meaning is almost always present tense. مَهما, means “whatever” and is a good example. Look at the sentence below.

I will finish this book no matter what happens (may happen).

.سأُكمل هذا الكتاب مهما حدث

There are quite a number of words that work like مهما Among the most common and the most likely you will see are those below.

Who (whoever)	مَنْ
Whatever	مَهْما
Whenever (and “the more . . .)	كلَّما
Perhaps	رَيْثُما
Where (wherever)	أيْنَ
Wherever	أَيْنَما
Wherever	حَيْثُما

There are others, but these are enough to get the point across. So do not be confused when you see these little words followed by a verb in the past tense. The little word itself will be in the dictionary (usually), so you can look it up if it is new to you. The verb after it should be translated in the present tense.

Rare Conditions

Now we come to elements of the conditional which you will not see very often. These are included for the sake of completeness and because it is certainly possible that you may see them. Even so, I am still leaving out a few things that you will almost certainly never see.

The first thing is that the particle إنْ can sometimes be followed by a verb in the jussive instead of in the past tense. In fact, of all things presented under this section, this is the item you are most likely to see. When the jussive is used in the conditional clause, it must also be used in the result clause. For example:

If you go to that restaurant, you will eat superb Arabic food.

.إنْ تَذْهَبْ الى ذلك المطعم تأكُلْ طعاما عربيا ممتازا

 

Another rare item (it occurs mainly in proverbs and classical works) is for the conditional clause to be a command. When that is the case no conditional particle is used. Furthermore, the result clause must then be jussive. For example.

Study this language and you will be successful.

.أُدْرُسْ هذه اللغة تَكُنْ ناجحا

 

لَوْ is sometimes used with a following present tense verb with the sense of “if only” or “would that such and such were so.” Usually this use of لو comes after a verb such as وَدَّ “to wish” or “to desire.”

For example:

I wished (would have liked) that the reporter could understand one Arabic word.

ودِدْتُ لو يستطيع المراسل أنْ يفهم كلمة عربية واحدة

That does it for the conditional. Do Drill 53.

Congratulations. You have accomplished a great deal if you have mastered most of the material in the book up until now. Essentially, if you are comfortable with the material covered so far, you are ready to begin seriously reading Arabic newspaper articles, editorials, academic articles, short stories and novels. You cannot read those things without knowing what is in Parts I and II of this book. If you know those things, you can now begin to deal with almost any Arabic texts written by Arabs for Arabs. Advice on how to do this is in Part III of this book. الف مبروك.

Note 1 – Actually with regard to إنْ , there are some instances when the ف does not have to be attached. If the result clause begins with an imperfect indicative verb, the ف is not required.